The U.S. Coast Guard
had a few of their helicopter pilots on exchange duty with the the
U.S. Air Force during the VietNam War. LT
Jack C. Rittichier was the first and only Coast Guard rescue
helicopter pilot Killed
in Action.
This
is the story of that rescue mission.

Crash
of Jolly Green 23June
9, 1968By
Ken Freeze

The
Last Mission of Hellborne 215

On
9 June 1968, Marine Corps 1st Lt. Walter R. Schmidt, Jr. (call sign
Hellborne 215) climbed aboard his A-4E Skyhawk and took off from
Chu-Lai Air Base, Republic of Vietnam on a mid-morning mission. He
was part of a multiple aircraft direct combat support mission for
U.S. troops fighting in the notorious A Shau Valley, Thua Thien
Province, South Vietnam.

This area was the
primary gateway from the Ho Chi Minh Trail into strategic sections of
northern South Vietnam. A border road that cut through the valley was
used by the Communists to transport weapons, supplies and troops from
North Vietnam into South Vietnam, and was frequently no more than a
path cut through the jungle covered mountains. U.S. forces used all
assets available to them to stop this flow of men and supplies from
moving south into the war zone.

At 10:20 in the
morning, after making a bombing run on an enemy position, Schmidt's
aircraft was struck by ground fire. His aircraft continued to the
northwest and crashed in the densely forested mountains approximately
5 miles northwest of the northern edge of the A Shau Valley, 2 miles
northeast of the South Vietnamese/Lao border and the same distance
southwest of a primary road leading from the Ho Chi Minh Trail. This
road ran east/west from the border eastward to a point near the
northern tip of the A Shau Valley. It then turned south-southeast
running along the full length of the east side of the dense jungle
covered valley.

Schmidt was seen to
eject from his crippled Skyhawk and descend safely to the ground.
Other pilots saw his parachute caught in trees and were able to
immediately establish voice contact with him. He reported to the
other pilots that he sustained a broken leg while ejecting and was
unable to move.

Unfortunately for
Schmidt, he had not only landed near a major North Vietnamese Army
infiltration route but also on the edge of the North Vietnamese Army
Base referred to as Area 611.

At
10:26, Crown 01, which was on orbit for air refueling of a Jolly
Green at position Tango (flying over the Gulf of Tonkin) received a
call reporting Hellborne 215 down.

When word was
received of the downed pilot at the 37th Aerospace Rescue and
Recovery Squadron in Da Nang, two HH-3Es were scrambled. Jolly Green
22 piloted by Major Arthur J. Anderson took off five minutes later.
Jolly Green 23, was delayed and took off 15 minutes later. At the
controls of Jolly Green 23 was Coast Guard LT Jack C. Rittichier
along with a USAF crew consisting of Captain Richard C. Yeend, Jr,
co-pilot; SSGT Elmer L. Holden, flight engineer; and SGT James D.
Locker, pararescueman.

Soon the Jolly
Greens met up with their escorts, Spad 01 and Spad 02 (A-1E). Also
enroute were Scarface 6-1 and Scarface 6-2 (Marine Huey gunships) ,
FACs Trail 35, Trail 33 and Trail 36 (0-1). They were all headed for
the A Shau Valley. The first FAC to arrive in the area spotted
Schmidt under his parachute. Through voice contact, Schmidt reported
that he had a broken right leg and a left arm and that he would need
help.

Trail 35 reported
that there was ground fire in the area as well as bunkers and trucks.

It was determined
that it was too dangerous for the Jollies and Spads to enter the area
unit it was made safe. In the meantime, they would hold their
positions to the northwest.

Hellborne 522,
Ringneck 528, Gunfighter 7 and Gunfighter 8 (Navy F-4) hit the area
several times under the direction of the FAC. By 11:40 the Jollies
and Spads were brought into the area for the first pick-up attempt.
Around noon, Jolly Green 22 located Schmidt a few yards from a road.
With Jolly Green 23 flying high, Jolly Green 22 descended in to the
area in a spiraling right turn, jettisoning its tip tanks and dumping
fuel in preparation for a high altitude rescue. The two Scarface
gunships covered the Jolly as is descended. Soon, Jolly Green 22
received heavy enemy ground fire from the valley floor and
surrounding ridges. The pilot felt his Jolly Green had been hit and
pulled up in a steep left turn.

After determining
that his aircraft was OK, the pilot again attempted the rescue, this
time with a straight in approach from the northwest, trying to avoid
the enemy ground fire area.

As the pilot pulled
Jolly Green 22 into a hover, extremely heavy ground fire erupted,
most of it coming from the ridge to the left of the helicopter. The
door gunners from the Jolly Green returned the fire as the pilot
pulled out of the area.

Jolly Green 22
returned to an orbit position as the FAC called in additional ground
strikes.

After about 20
minutes of intense fire suppression activity, Jolly Green 22 once
again joined the two Scarface gunships and Spads, 01 and 02 for
another rescue attempt.

Once again as Jolly
Green 22 slowed to a hover, ground fire erupted, but this time it was
coming from literally every direction, from the hillside above to the
ravine below and from the front and back of Jolly Green 22. Once
again the pilot pulled the craft up and out of harms way, returning
to obit a safe distance away.

Jolly
Green Hit

More suppression
strikes were ordered in, however, now Jolly Green 22 was low on fuel.
Trail 36 asked Rittichier, at the controls of Jolly Green 23 if he
would be able to make the rescue attempt. Rittichier replied that he
would and that he would use the Scarface gunships as his high cover.
Jolly Green 22 remained in the area until it was critically low on
fuel and was forced to depart. As Jolly Green 22 headed back to
refuel, he heard the radio calls of Rittichier reporting heavy
gunfire and relaying the directions of the incoming fire to the Spads
and gunships.

Rittichier
continued his approach under fire until initiating a hover over the
survivor at which time he decided the attempt was futile.

Jolly Green 23 came
around for a second try. What happened next was witnessed by Lt. Col
Robert C. Dubois, USAF (Ret.) who was Trail 33 (FAC): (As published
on Tom
Pilsch'sWeb
site "The
Search for Jolly Green 23".)

I remember it
[Hellborne 215 parachute] being on the north side of the east west
section of road that ran into Laos and it was hung up in a tree. I
never actually saw the A-4 pilot but understood he was in the bushes
next to the chute and was injured and could not move.

After the fighters
had put down suppression ordinance Jolly Green 23 said he was going
in for an attempted pick up. Jolly Green 23 went into a hover over
the A-4 pilot and turned to face the west. The PJ was on the wire
being lowered when Jolly Green 23 reported that he was taking fire. I
saw fire coming out of the left side near the engine and told Jolly
Green 23 that he had a fire on the left side.

He started pulling
out and I advised him that there was a clearing 1,000 meters North if
he had to set down. He said he was going for the clearing.

The fire appeared
to extinguish and I advised Jolly Green 23 of that. He said he was
going to set it down as he reached the clearing. He was in a descent
but still above the height of the trees along the edge of the
clearing when the main rotor stopped turning. The Jolly Green 23 hit
the ground and burst into flames that consumed anything that looked
like an aircraft.

After refueling and
a quick check for battle damage, Jolly Green 22 returned to the area.
Enroute, Anderson asked the status of the mission and was informed
that Jolly Green 23 had crashed and that there were no survivors.

Although four
people were now dead, Schmidt was still alive and needed to be
rescued. Jolly Green 28, commanded by Capt. Jerry M. Griggs, arrived
on scene at 1:20 p.m. and orbited for an hour before being cleared to
attempt another rescue. Jolly Greens 22 and 24 flew high cover while
the two Huey gunships, Sandy 9 and Sandy 10, as well as Seaworthy 4-1
and Seaworthy 4-2 were flying close cover.

Jolly Green 28 came
in for a rescue attempt and pulled into a hover, as it did so, it was
hit with server ground fire from all directions. Griggs made a diving
exit as the crew of the Jolly Green 28 returned the fire.

As Jolly Green 28
was pulling out of the area, the fire warning light for the number
two engine illuminated and it experienced a drop in power. Other
aircraft in the area reported smoke coming from the number two
engine. Jolly Green 28 was now in trouble. With only one engine, it
didn’t have the power to clear the mountains in the area. Jolly
Green 24, commanded by Major Harvie L. Stringer, came down to escort
Jolly Green 28 out of the area by following the road. Trail 36 lead
the way while Sandy 9 and Sandy 10 flew cover.

But as the group
followed the road, they were coming under heavy ground fire. Griggs
needed to get Jolly Green 28 higher so it could clear the 3,700 feet
ridgeline for a quick exit out of the valley. He ordered the crew of
Jolly Green 28 to begin throwing everything possible out of the
helicopter in order to lighten it. But Jolly Green 28 kept loosing
altitude as Griggs maneuvered the helicopter to avoid enemy ground
fire. Somehow, Jolly Green 28 was able to regain the necessary
altitude and crossed the ridge out of the valley. A short time later,
Griggs landed Jolly Green 28 at Kha Sanh.

Meanwhile, Stringer
landed Jolly Green 24 for refueling and then returned to the rescue
mission.

The Rescue
Attempt Continues

During
this time, numerous air strikes were made to suppress the ground
fire. At 3:15 p.m. Crown 1 was relieved by Crown 2 and Hellborne 215
had been on the ground, wounded, for four hours.

Sandy 9 and 10 flew
over the area to evaluate the around before another Jolly Green came
in. There was no ground fire. Jolly Green 22 was low on fuel so Crown
2 suggested that Jolly Green 24 make the attempt. While Jolly Green
22 was still in the area, Jolly Green 24 made an approach. Stringer
pulled the helicopter into a hover, and just as he did, flight
engineer SSGT Robert H. Baldwin called, "Pull off, Ground Fire!"
as he began to return fire himself. Ground fire was erupting from
every possible angle, but now it also included fire from .50 caliber
machine guns.

Stringer
immediately pulled the craft up to exit. But this time the North
Vietnamese grounds troops were ready for him. He was headed directly
into an ambush of heavy ground fire. Stringer turned the helicopter
to the right and dove down a ridge line only to fly directly into
ground fire once again. Apparently the previous air attack had done
little to soften up the enemy. In fact they had had time to bring in
more and heavier guns.

Stringer advised
Trail 33 and Crown 2 that the area was still hot. That ground fire
was coming from the ridge to the right of Hellborn 215 and from
spider holes (which the Vietnamese troops used like bunkers)
immediately below the road.

Jolly Green 27,
commanded by Major Stuart H. Hoag, arrived on scene and Stringer
advised him that the area was still hot with automatic weapons fire
20 to 30 yards both north and south of the Hellborne 215. Also that
Hellborne 215 was not moving and that radio contact had been lost.
Any more attempts would have to wait.

Stringer on Jolly
Green 24 left the scene to refuel. While on the ground he called
Queen by telephone and passed his evaluation and recommendations.

At 4:45 p.m. Jolly
Green 27, flying low and Jolly Green 33, flying high, arrived back on
scene and shortly thereafter, Jolly Green 22 also returned. All three
orbited the area as the site was again hit with CBU-19
(a
tear gas like agent) and napalm.

The crews on the
Jollies circling overhead were instructed to put on their gas masks
in preparation for the use of the CBU-19,
however all three crews experienced the same problem in that the
microphone fittings in that the gas masks were not compatible with
the crew helmets. If they used the masks, no voice communications
would be possible either inside their helicopter among the crew or
with other aircraft engaged in the rescue attempt.

The crew of Jolly
Green 33 came up with an alternate plan. The flight engineer SGT
David Rodriquez volunteered to remove his helmet and use a headset,
with which the gas mask was compatible. The pararescueman, SGT Ernest
D. Casbeer, used an older type gas mask, which was compatible with
his helmet. The co-pilot, Captain Paul D. Ashley devised a method of
transmitting by putting his mike on his larynx. The pilot, Captain
William E. Brennan had a different mike and was unable to jury rig
any method of using it. The crew had devised a method of
communications that would allow for the use of the CBU-19 and perhaps
enable them to rescue Hellborne 215 on the ground.

CBU-19
was
dropped on both sides of the Hellborne 215. Jolly Green 33 began its
approach and entered a hover. However, in spite of the use of the
CBU-19, in just seconds, Jolly Green 33 was driven off by ground
fire. But in those few seconds of hovering, the flight engineer
spotted Hellborne 215 lying on the ground partially covered by his
parachute. The engineer could see that he was lying on his back with
one leg under him, which appeared broken. He was not moving.

Jolly Green 33,
left the area to refuel. While refueling, Jolly Greens 22, 27 and 33
received a message from Crown 2 to return to base. It was 6:30 p.m.
and Hellborne 215 had been on the ground for a little over eight
hours. The missions had been canceled.

At dawn the next
day, a ground team was inserted into the area. During their search in
and around where Hellborne 215 had landed, no trace of him or his
parachute could be found. All attempts to re-establish radio contact
with him also proved futile. Under the circumstances, formal search
and rescue efforts were concluded, Walter R. Schmidt, Jr. was listed
as a Prisoner of War.

Attempts
to Locate the Crash Site

Air
Force Looks for Missing CopterThe
Associated Press - Nov 14, 1998

HURLBURT
FIELD, Fla. (AP) -- The Air Force is hoping flight simulations can
help solve the disappearance 30 years ago of a rescue helicopter in
Vietnam.

The
project may lead to similar efforts to find other aircraft that
vanished during the Vietnam War, former flight engineer Bob Baldwin
said Wednesday as the nation marked Veterans Day.

Baldwin
is part of a team of veterans teaming up with the Air Force to find
an HH-3E Jolly Green Giant and its four-man crew. The helicopter
named Jolly Green 23 vanished June 9, 1968, while searching for a
downed attack pilot, who also remains unaccounted for.

Baldwin
was part of the wartime effort to find the helicopter. Thirty years
later, he's helping with a new search despite being thousands of
miles away from the scene. Black and white aerial photos taken
in the late 1960s were converted into digital photos and matched with
current maps to recreate the wartime landscape near the Vietnam-Laos
border. Baldwin then used a computer joy stick to fly through the
scene displayed on a console. "I just closed my eyes and
when I opened them up, it was like stepping back 30 years,'' Baldwin
said. "The only thing missing is that the tracers aren't
coming at you'' from antiaircraft guns.

The
simulations at the Hurlburt base in the Florida Panhandle allowed
Baldwin and another former pilot to pick out three spots where the
helicopter may have crashed.

A
military team in Vietnam searched for four days before the monsoon
season forced them to stop. They plan to resume when the rains end
next year, said Maj. Mike Vaughn, who helps supervise computer
mapping and flight simulator work at Hurlburt.

The
team found no sign of Jolly Green 23, but did find wreckage of a
Marine helicopter that had been forced down. All but one of the crew
members had escaped.

Epilogue

In
early 1973, during Operation Homecoming, the communists released 591
American Prisoners of War. In conjunction with Operation Homecoming,
the North Vietnamese released a list of American Prisoners of War who
they state died in captivity. Walter Schmidt was not included in this
list of Americans who died while under the control of the communists.

In
April 1991 the U.S. government released a list of Prisoners of War
and Missing in Action who were known to be alive in enemy hands and
for whom there is no evidence that he or she died in captivity. This
list, commonly referred to today as the USG's "Last Known Alive"
list, includes 1st Lt. Walter Schmidt.

Rittichier's
widow, the former Carol Ann Laux, remarried several years after his
death to another Coast Guard Aviator, who retired as a commander in
1980. They currently live in California

In
the Vietnam war, 8,000 Coast Guardsman served in combat or direct
support roles. Of those, seven were killed and 60 were wounded.
LT Jack C. Rittichier is the only Coast Guardsmen whose body has not
been recovered.

On
October 12, 1991, a villager turned in to the "Office PA15 -
Public Security", Dong Ngi Province, Vietnam, a dog tag and
remains reportedly belonging to Lt. Rittichier. The information on
the dog tag correlates with the correct data for Jack Rittichier.
That information was provided to U.S. personnel, however, the dog tag
and remains were not turned over by the Vietnamese. There was no
information provided by the villager as to the fate of the other
crewmen.

In
his honor, the Integrated Support Command in Portsmouth, VA,
commissioned its Administration and Electronic Systems Support Unit
building the Rittichier Building, during a formal ceremony held
November 10, 1998. A hangar at Coast Guard Air Station Detroit is
also dedicated in his honor.